Uncommon Business is a blog about people who make money online selling unusual, strange and sometimes bizarre things or provide curious services. This isn’t “One Hundred And One Ideas For Your Homebased Business” – only real, working businesses with URLs provided, so you can do further investigation on your own. And if you do own an unusual web business, make sure you submit your story to us. SHLD

Sunday, April 29, 2012

EggDrop Review

Ever since Craigslist came to existence, the newspaper's classified ads section has all but became extinct. Enter EggDrop, a new mobile app, that simplifies the marketplace process even further and allows you to take it with you.

Before EggDrop became the EggDrop it is now, it was more like eBay than Craigslist, but with a twist. Instead of people submitting their maximum bids over a specified period of time, EggDrop required sellers to designate a maximum and minimum price. Within 72 hours, the price of an item fell until someone bid on it.

But this didn't seem to work, so Dan Zheng, the app creator, and his team decided to release a revamped version of the product. Now, sellers take a picture of their merchandise, upload it to the website and decide on a price. And unlike Craigslist where you have to repost every now and then to ensure that people see your ad, EggDrop automatically does the reposting for you after a week until yo u instruct it to stop.

At EggDrop, buyers and sellers figure out a way to make payments between themselves. Sellers cannot ship items from EggDrop to make the process stay local. Further, users give each other badges and karma scores, meaning, if you don't screw people over, you get more props. EggDrop's marketplace is, in every respect, local, encouraging face-to-face interactions, and if you're a total jerk, expect to get called out.

Recently, EggDrop incorporated an anonymous messaging system to allow buyers and sellers to communicate without giving out personal information and phone numbers. There's also a wanted section where buyers get to post what exactly they're looking for and get paired with sellers who have what they are looking for, making finding what you need a lot simpler.

With about half a million downloads in 50 states and some part of the United Kingdom, there's a chance EggDrop will give Craigslist a run for its money.